August 31 2011 Anime Newsletter

Welcome to the August 31st edition of the BellaOnline Anime newsletter!

Here are the headlines to come out of the anime industry since the last newsletter:

Voice actor Junpei Takiguchi passed away on August 29, 2011 at the age of 80 from stomach cancer. His voice appeared in various anime productions over the years, including Kimba the White Lion, Gatchaman, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, D.Gray-man, Metropolis, and Lupin III.

Anime director Yutaka Yamamoto will be guest at the Nan Desu Kan convention that's taking place in Denver on September 9-11, 2011. Yamamoto's directorial credits include Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, as well as parts of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star. Yamamoto also founded the Ordet anime studio, where he oversaw the Fractale anime series.

Nekocon has announced that anime voice actors Chris Rager, Kyle Hebert, and Jerry Jewell will be guests at their upcoming convention. Rager's credits include Mr. Satan and King Yemma on Dragon Ball Z and Arlong in One Piece. Hebert's credits include Kiba in Naruto, the narrator and Teen Gohan in Dragon Ball Z, and Vato Falman in Fullmetal Alchemist. Jewell's credits include Kyo Sohma in Fruits Basket, Barry the Chopper in Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Russia in Hetalia. Nekocon is taking place November 4-6, 2011 at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Virgin Records will be releasing Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem on Blu-ray disc in the United States on October 4, 2011. At this point in time, the exact specifics concerning this release are not known.

Anime Weekend Atlanta has announced that the convention is hosting manga and anime creator Yoshitoshi ABe and voice actress Naoko Matsui. ABe created such works as Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei, and Texhnolyze. Matsui's voice acting roles include Sonoko Suzuki in Case Closed and Dorothy Catalonia in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Anime Weekend Atlanta is taking place September 30-October 2, 2011 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel and Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

There are topics in the anime forum for these news stories. If you'd like to join in on the discussion, there's a link to the forum later in the newsletter. You need to have a BellaOnline forum account in order to post, but signing up for a forum account is free.

Here are this week's new anime DVD and Blu-ray releases in the United States

Title

Format

Title

Format

Neo Angelique Abyss Complete Collection DVD Set

DVD

Pokemon - Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles DVD 5

DVD

Pokemon - Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles DVD 6

DVD

Pokemon - Diamond and Pearl: Galactic Battles DVD Box Set

DVD

Spice and Wolf Season 1 Collection

Blu-ray

Spice and Wolf Season 2

DVD/Blu-ray Combo

This week, I posted three new articles to the Anime site. The first is a biography for anime voice actor Junpei Takiguchi. The second is a review of Mewtwo Returns. The third is a review of the Naruto Uncut Season One Volume Two DVD box set. I have added Naruto Uncut Season One Volume Two to the Anime Shop, and the set is also featured as an "Editor's Recommendation" on the main page of the Anime site.